It couldn’t have been a nicer day to take a day off work. a healthy crowd were at the swing bridge before 9. A minute after, and we were on our way.
27 of us pedalled through Sutton Weaver and Beechwood, and we were soon pedalling over the Mersey on the Runcorn/Widnes bridge.
From here we picked up the Trans-Pennine trail, and headed through Speke and Garston before dropping down to the front and on towards Otterspool prom.
We headed along the path all the way to Pier head where the first puncture was shouted up. The photos tell the rest of the day’s ride…
Nice morning for a relaxed break whilst the first puncture was mended.
Soon on our way, and in plenty of time for the crossing, we shuffled about loading our bikes.
Bikes loaded, but where are the riders?
Aah, there they are, unsurprisingly grabbing brews and cakes. Derek was starving, bt where was Al(?)…
…sat on his own, quietly indulging as per usual, without even bothering to take his helmet off…
Others mused and refuelled on the 20 minute crossing…
..and then grabbed some (fresh?) Mersey air..
Disembarked on the other side, we took a group shot before our exploration of the Wirral peninsula.
We hugged the Wallasey coast on the path all the way to Hoylake, and then picked our way to West Kirby and the Wirral Way. We meandered our way along the dusty paths without incident, although Dave D. did at one point require a rest on Rich M. for a minute.
Barely a few miles from the cafe stop and a loud bang was heard. This was not only Malcolm inner tube, but his tyre also. This took some time to find the split in the tyre to put a patch on(!)…
…at one point, hunger had obviously set in, as some were even checking the time on the watches that they weren’t wearing.
Eventually, all was sorted, and tyre good as new, we rocketed along the last few miles to get to Net’s cafe.
A nice cafe on a nice day. Relaxing outside in the sun. Life is tough.
Having only been to the same cafe a few days before, I had a sense of deja vu about itbut also the knowledge about the excellent cake selection and I had to sample some excellent toffee cake again. Alan was obviously – happy.
A great cafe though, and the second visit suggested that this is going to be a more regular slot in our cafe rotation! It’s now on the cafe’s map – Just look for Net’s.
As it was Terry’s birthday the day before, we obviously sang to him, and Jimmy presented him with a piece of fruit cake without a candle.
We then headed off back across the boardwalk, and fortunately they weren’t firing live ammo, so we were okay.
Boardwalk, and a picture of two moving targets from the previous Sunday.
We then picked up the Greenway and headed home, with a short punctuation for a puncture. This rounded off the day, and I left the group with Malcolm as we neared Alvanley.
A fantastic day on the bike for all. Thanks to Terry for leading it. I think those who booked the day off work will be doing exactly the same next year. 🙂